Welding apparatus



March 14, 1944. RE. POWELL 2,343,998

WELDING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 5, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F I 6. I

INVEN TOR R. E. POWELL .MAM I A T TORNEY March 14; 1944. POWELL 2,343,998

- WELDING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 5; 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gull uwm TOR R. E. POWELL .4 TTORNEY -the unit 2|,

mama Mar. 14,1944

um'rso srArss'PATENr OFFICE Raymond 1:. Powell, wmaeia; N. 1.,

Western'l-llectrlc Company. Incorporated asslgnor to York, N. Y., a corporation oi New York 7 Application December 5, 1942, Serial No. 467,942 4 Claims. (01.219-4) This invention relates to welding apparatus, and more particularly those of the spot welding In-the more common spot welding apparatus the work pieces are squeezed between upper and lower electrodes so that the welding current enters the weld-area from an electrode on one side, travels through the weld-area and leaves through the electrode on the other side. Such an arrangement, however, could not be employed if there existed one or more layers of non-current carrying material positioned so that the current could notpass through the assembly.

An object of the invention is to provide a welding apparatus particularly adapted for welding metal parts together in an assembly whereinnon-conductive parts are present.

With this and other objects in view, the invention comprises a welding apparatus including electrodes disposed at a common side of. an assembly, including metal parts which are to be welded together, and means to support the assembly in a balanced condition for the applicathrough an insulating bushing 39 in an aperture tion of equal pressure through both electrodes to v the assembly.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent fromthe following detailedv description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein .Flg. 1' is a front elevational apparatus, portions thereof being shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the welding apparatus, portions thereof being broken away, and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail view of another species of the-invention.

Referring now to the drawings, attention is first directed to Figs. 1 and 2, which illustrate the apparatuses having a supporting frame II with a base i I and a hollow forwardly projecting porview of the welding tion l2, to support the head structure indicated.

generally at M.

The head structure it includes a rack l5 which i t r ns s a p upon a shaft I handie IO and normally urged in a clockwise direction (Fig. '2) through the aid of a spring I! orv other suitable means. At the lower end of the head Ilia mounting unit 20 is secured and has a clamping portion 2| for the rigid clamping of an electrode 22 therein, through the aid ofa 7 on IS, the latter being mounted screw 22. this structure being at the forward portion of the unit 2|. At the rearward portion of conductors 25 are connected. as at 2!, the opposite ends of these conductors being clamped, as at'2'l,.to a terminal 22 through which aconnectionflismadewiththewelding circuit (not shown). 4

Renaming-now to the electrode 22,it willbe which is rotatable througha observed that it has a contact point or portion 2 20 for engaging a part such as a lead it for .the

welding of this part to another part 32. The part 32 is formed with a non-conductive material 23 which would block the flow of .a welding current directly through the assembly including the parts 3! and 32. Therefore, the second electrode must of necessity be positioned in engagement with the part 22 as close as is conveniently pos- TO accomplish 21115131119 I of the arm 35. Through the bushing 3!, the electrode structure 36 is insulated from the electrode 22. The portion 38. is secured in place through the aid. of nuts 40 and II, the latter serving also for the mounting oL-a terminal 42 which is electrically connected to a conductor 43. The conductor 43 is included in the welding circuit through a portion of a supporting bracket 45 and a lead 46. The lower portion of the threaded member 38 of the electrode 26 is rounded, as at 48, cavity in an engaging member SI of the electrode, to form a universal connection .between these portions. A bolt 52 or other suitable means carried by the member 33 and having its ends disposed i enlarged or elongate apertures 53, will permit movement of the portions of the electrode into and out of welding positions and permit relative movement of these portions so that the portion 5| will have its large contacting surface lying flush with the part 22.

A switch 55, having a movable control member 55, is supported by a bracket portion l2 of the framell. Theswitch "is of the normally open type adapted to be closed through downward pressure on the member is, to cause shown) A spring pressed plunger 2, carried by anarm 59 mounted upon the rack Ii, serves as means to actuate the switch through its control member 56 after the electrodes have been moved into engagement with the assembly of parts they are to weld. r

The bracket 45 previously described as serving as a connection between the conductor 43 and the lead It, is mounted as at ll upon the frame Ill and extends forwardly to a position as indicated at 8|,where clampingmeans'flir-rovlded for the mounting of a table 03. The table 83 servesasasupportforthepartsctthensemhly" whilebeingpositionedfortheweldingoperaflm. Itwillbe-notedthatthepartflextendsarmmd to cooperate with a concaved end 49 ofia i1 integral with the closing of the welding circuit (not. 2

the movement I may be brought into position out of contact nection between the portions these parts, particularl the metal ones. be free of the table during the welding operation. To accomplish this another purpose of balancing the parts so that of the electrodes by a common purpose and to accomplish still means will cause application of equal pressures to the parts at each electrode, this means consists of a semi-spherical element ll mounted upon the table 63 trode 22. After this has been accomplished, the

operator may actuate the head I through the aid of the handle II, the pinion l6 and the rack II, to cause simultaneous downward movement of the electrodes into the position shown in Fig. 1. During this downward movement of the elecat a positionmidwaybetween the center lines of the electrodes.

Considering now the operation of the welding assumed that the head ll trodes,'the structure including the parts" and 38 may engage the table at one end or the other, but as the electrodes are moved into position the high portion of this assembly will be engaged by one or the other of, the electrodes, moving the parts into positions parallel with the table and .therewith. In the construction of the electrodes, one electrode, for example electrode 22, is purposely made shorter in length than the other electrode to compensate for the thick-- part it engages. It will beep-- ness of the added I parent that during the downward movement of the electrodes the portion 5| may not, at the beginning of its downward travel, be positioned so thatits contacting surface will be parallel with the part 32. However, through the universal coni and II, the contacting surface of the former will find its parallel position with the adjacent surface of the part 32.

The switch arrangement may be such that the lng members. the

plunger II will cause closing of the switch after the electrodes have been move into position and the desired pressure applied through the electrodes to the parts being of the switch and the completion of the welding circuit, the welding energy will pass through the electrode 22, the part 3|, into the part 32, over to the electrode structure II, and back through the conductor 42 and its 32 are thus welded together and after a sufllcientlength of time has lapsed for the completion 01' this weld, the electrodes, through the movement of the head, may be raised from thewelded parts, completing one welding operation.

Another specie of the invention is illustrated n Fig. 3. The structure illustrated in this figure is identical with that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 with the exception that an electrode II is of a solid structure similar-to its companion electrode II and the electrode 22. A table 12 and a balancing element 13 support an assembly including a metal part II and a non-conductivepart II, the former of which is to be welded to a meassociated lead II. The

welded. Upon closing *"si iii 1 the other part.

, 9,848,998 theendsofthepartfl anditlsimportantthat- With this arrangement the elec-' are connected through an arm ll from each other by a bushing II, are supported by a common" means, such as the head ,the element I1 causing qualization of the pressure upon the parts to be welded at the electrodes. It will. thus be apparent this structure that an assembly, including metallic parts to be welded together and one or more non-conductive parts prohibiting the passage of a welding current in a straight line through the hietallic parts, may be welded through the engagement of electrodes upon a common side of the assembly with th assurance that uniform pressures will beapplied at both the electrodes.

Although specific improvements of the invention have been shown anddescribed, it will be understood that they are but illustrative ahd that various modifications may be made therein tallic part "II. trodes which but insulated without departingfrom the scope and spirit of this invention as defined by the appended claims. What is claimed is: l. A welding apparatus comprising a work engaging electrode cess therein disposed opposite the work engaging surface thereof, a'supporting electrod 'meimher having a rounded end freely movable in the said recess, means'loosely connecting the memhersfor free movement of "the recessed member relative to the supporting memb r and a surface bf a part tobe welded to another part; and an electrode adapted to engage the other part.

2. A welding apparatus comprising an elec-,

"trode having-normally spaced leading and following members, the former having a flat work enga ing surface. means'to support the members for movement of the leading member free of engagement with the following member during movegnent of both members toward a surface-of a part to be welded to another part for engagement of the said surfaces prior to engagement of the members, and an electrode adapted to engage the other part.

3.'A welding apparatus comprising an electrode having normally spaced leading and followformer having a flat work engaging surface, means-to support the following member for movement relative to a surface of a part to be welded to another part, means carried by the following member to support the leading memberfree of engagement. with the following member during movement of both members to- ,ward the surface of the first part for engagement of the said surfaces prior to the engagement of the members, and an electrode adapted to engage .4. A welding apparatus comprising an electrode having normally spaced leading and following members, the fcrmerihaving a flat work engag leg surface, a second electrode movable relative td'a part to be welded to a surface of another an arm, means carried by the said arm to support the following member for part. and means berto support movement relative to the surface of the second carried by the following memthe leading member free of engagement with the following member during movement of both members toward the surface of the first part for'engagement of the said surfaces prior to the engagement of the member RAYMOND E. POWELL.

member having a concaved re- 

